Mopping Device with Two Mopping Wings which can be Folded Together

ABSTRACT

A mopping device includes a mop plate including a first mopping wing and a second mopping wing. The first and second mopping wings are configured to fold toward one another, and the first and second mopping wings each include a first material and each include at least one sliding element made of a second material. The mopping device further includes a first squeezing arm and a second squeezing arm disposed movably relative to the first and second mopping wings. The first and second squeezing arms are configured to respectively slide on the respective at least one sliding element and fold the first and second mopping wings toward one another.

The invention relates to a mopping device having a mop plate that comprises two mopping wings, foldable toward one another, made of a first material; and having squeezing arms, arranged movably relative to the mopping wings, for folding the mopping wings toward one another.

DE 100 58 630 C1 discloses a floor mop having two carrier plates joined in articulated fashion to a common center piece. The carrier plates carry an absorbent mopping cover and are engageable, via a complex roller design, with a squeezing-out slider that comprises two rigid squeezing-out arms, in order to fold the carrier plates together and thereby squeeze out and dry them.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,025 also discloses a mopping device having a complex roller design for folding the mop plates together with the aid of a squeezing fork.

EP 1 208 788 A1 discloses a wet mop for planar surfaces having two mopping plates connected with interposition of a double joint and pressable toward one another. The wet mop comprises a swingable handle mounted on the double joint. A sliding sleeve, arranged on the handle and having two pressure arms that are slidable over the mopping wings, is provided for pressing the mopping plates toward one another.

It is the object of the present invention to describe a mopping device that enables easier squeezing-out of the mopping cover with little manufacturing complexity.

The object is achieved by a mopping device which is characterized in that each mopping wing comprises at least one sliding element, made of a second material, on which the squeezing arms slide.

What has been recognized according to the present invention is that friction between the squeezing arms and the mopping wings is an important factor in terms of the energy expenditure for squeezing out a mopping cover. As is already known from the existing art, a reduction in friction could be avoided by using roller designs. This results, however, in a very considerable increase in complexity during manufacture of the mopping device.

To allow a satisfactory cleaning result to be obtained in particular on uneven surfaces, in particular floors, the mopping wings must be made of a material of sufficient flexibility that the mopping wings can adapt to the floor shape. It is therefore impossible to replace the flexible (and therefore friction-susceptible) material of the mopping wings with a material having good sliding properties.

According to the present invention, not only is the adaptability of the mopping wings to uneven surfaces retained, but easier pressing of the mopping wings toward one another is also simultaneously achieved, by reducing the friction between the squeezing arms and the mopping wings.

In accordance therewith, the first material, from which the mopping wings are manufactured, is softer and/or more flexible than the second material, from which the sliding elements are manufactured. In particular, in an advantageous embodiment of the mopping device, the second material is smoother than the first material.

In an advantageous embodiment, the second material is a plastic, by preference polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

In another embodiment, the second material is a metal.

In an advantageous embodiment of the mopping device according to the present invention, the sliding elements are adhesively bonded on or screwed on. In another embodiment that can be manufactured very particularly efficiently, the sliding elements are manufactured together with the mopping wings in a two-component injection molding process.

In a very particularly advantageous embodiment, the mopping wings comprise gripping hooks for securing a mopping cover. It is particularly advantageous to manufacture the gripping hooks together with the mopping wings in one piece, for example using an injection molding method. The advantage of the invention is particularly evident here as well: because the mopping wings are made of a flexible material, the gripping hooks manufactured together therewith are also sufficiently flexible to participate in a secure bond with the gripping strip of the mopping cover; this would not be possible if the entire mopping wing were manufactured from a smooth and hard material.

The mopping device according to the present invention can be embodied, for example, as a flat mop and/or as a floor mop and/or as a window mop and/or as a furniture mop.

In an advantageous embodiment, the squeezing arms are parts of a squeezing fork. Provision can advantageously be made that the squeezing fork and/or the squeezing arms are arranged displaceably along a handle in guided fashion.

In an advantageous embodiment, the squeezing fork is slidable over the plate wings, preferably in guided fashion, for example guided on a handle.

Provision can advantageously be made that the handle is connected to the mop plate in articulated fashion, for example in the fashion of a gimbal or a universal joint.

As an alternative to a squeezing fork provision can also be made, for example, to use for folding the first and second plate wings toward one another a preferably funnel-shaped or V-shaped squeezing sieve into which the foldable mop plate is introduced.

The subject matter of the invention is schematically depicted in the drawings and will be described below with reference to the Figures, identically functioning elements being labeled with the same reference characters. In the Figures:

FIG. 1 shows a mopping device according to the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a mopping device 1 according to the present invention, having a mop plate 3 that comprises two mopping wings 5, foldable toward one another, made of a first material. Mopping device 1 is equipped with two squeezing arms 7 arranged movably relative to mopping wings 5. Squeezing arms 7 are part of a squeezing fork 9 that is arranged displaceably along a handle 11. Each of mopping wings 5 has a respective sliding element 13 made of a second material. Mopping wings 5 are furthermore equipped with gripping hooks for securing a mopping cover (not shown here). By pushing squeezing fork 9 having squeezing arms 7 over mop plate 3, mopping wings 5 are respectively folded rotatingly onto one another in joints 15, and the mopping cover (not shown here) is thereby squeezed out and dried. In this operation, squeezing arms 7 slide on sliding elements 13, which are manufactured from a slidable material, namely polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The first material, from which plate wings 5 are manufactured, is softer and more flexible than the second material, so that a good gripping connection can also be made—because the gripping hooks are not too hard and inflexible—between the mopping cover (not shown) and plate wings 5.

The invention has been described with reference to a particular exemplifying embodiment. It is self-evident, however, that changes and modifications can be made without thereby leaving the range of protection of the claims below.

List of Reference Characters

-   1 Mopping device -   3 Mop plate -   5 Mopping wings -   7 Squeezing arm -   9 Squeezing fork -   11 Handle -   13 Sliding element -   15 Joint 

1-12. (canceled)
 13. A mopping device comprising: a mop plate including a first mopping wing and a second mopping wing, the first and second mopping wings being configured to fold toward one another, the first and second mopping wings each including a first material and each including at least one sliding element made of a second material; and a first squeezing arm and a second squeezing arm disposed movably relative to the first and second mopping wings, the first and second squeezing arms being configured to respectively slide on the respective at least one sliding element and fold the first and second mopping wings toward one another.
 14. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein the first and second squeezing arms are part of a squeezing fork.
 15. The mopping device as recited in claim 14, wherein the squeezing fork is disposed displaceably on a handle.
 16. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein the first and second squeezing arms are disposed displaceably on a handle.
 17. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein a softness of the first material is greater than a softness of the second material.
 18. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein a flexibility of the first material is greater than a flexibility of the second material.
 19. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein a smoothness of the second material is greater than a smoothness of the first material.
 20. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein the second material is a plastic.
 21. The mopping device as recited in claim 20, wherein the plastic includes at least one of a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a polyacetal (POM), and an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS).
 22. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein the second material is a metal.
 23. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein each of the at least one sliding element is coupled to the respective first and second mopping wing via adhesive bonding.
 24. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein each of the at least one sliding element is coupled to the respective first and second mopping wing via a screw coupling.
 25. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein each of the at least one sliding element is manufactured together with the respective first and second mopping wing in a two-component injection molding process.
 26. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein the first and second mopping wings each include at least one gripping hook configured to secure a mopping cover.
 27. The mopping device as recited in claim 26, wherein each of the at least one gripping hook is manufactured integrally with the respective first and second mopping wing.
 28. The mopping device as recited in claim 13, wherein the mopping device is at least one of a flat mop, a floor mop, a window mop, and a furniture mop. 